las adventuras de argentina.

Hello friends and family!

Well, as of late I have been a lot busier. I actually have a social life now that other students are here and classes have started. My schedule is fairly relaxed, although my Fridays are not exactly easy. Monday I have one class, Wednesday I have two classes, and two Fridays out of the month I have three classes, and the other two I have four. I'm still trying to grasp the concept of studying here. It's really difficult to find the motivation when there is always something else I could be doing, some where else I could be, people I could be interacting with. Although I came here to experience new things, I need to remember that I came here to STUDY too (I think that's why they call it study abroad).

Last weekend 15 others and I went to Capilla del Monte, a small town about three hours outside of Córdoba. The town is apparently known for its UFO sitings and kind of has a this ongoing alien/UFO theme going on in the little restaurants and other "touristy" places. Though it would have made quite a story, we didn't see any UFOs (or OVNIS en español) but I did see a gorgeous sunrise over the Sierras and seemingly endless chain of mountains.

The afternoon we arrived we set out on a journey up a dirt road outside of town. About an hour into the hike we found out from various locals driving past that there was an 8 mile hike ahead of us with absolutely nothing to see at the end. So with the exception of four others, the majority of us headed back down the hill to find something else to do. We ended up waiting in the shade of a small bus stop hut for about an hour, then finally went back into town. After locating a cute little hostile, we found a beautiful park with a pool made by the river. By this time it was evening, and the harsh sun that burned our cheaks and put sweat on brows just hours before, now reflected gently on the calm water of the river, and peeked through the soft branches of the willow trees (haha).

The next day we woke up bright and early and prepared our backpacks for a day in the mountains, unaware of exactly what we were going to be doing that day. We found the stop where the bus was supposed to pick us up, and after waiting for about a half an hour, we decided to start the treck to the base of the mountain. We reached the center an hour later, where we paid 20 pesos, bought a few last minute snacks for the hike, and then set out.

Within the first five minutes of the hike I think we all began to realize this was not going to be a pleasant trek through the mountains. The entire trail was uphill, and completely made of rock. By the end it felt as though I had basically been climbing really steep stairs for about three hours. But the view from the top was well worth every bit of energy I had spent. There were beautiful clouds in the sky, mountains that seemed to stretch on forever, and a view of Capilla del Monte nestled within the mountains along side a lake. We spent about an hour and a half to two hours just taking it all in, taking pictures, and relaxing against the rocks.

Though I did not do anything nearly as cool this weekend, on Sunday a smaller group of us went to Alta Gracia, where we toured the house of Ernesto Che Guevara, and an old estancia of the Jesuits that settled there over four hundred years ago. It was a very educational day!

As for now, I think it is probably about time to do some homework.